Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast: Bringing the Power of Prayer into Politics

“But Rut replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God.” Ruth 1:16 (The Israel Bible™)

The sun sets over the Old City in Jerusalem. (Shutterstock)

This week, Christian leaders from around the world met with Israeli officials in the Knesset to pray for Israel at the third annual Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast. The Knesset Christian Allies Caucus (KCAC), an organization dedicated to strengthening ties between Christian leaders and the Israeli government, hosted over 400 delegates from 60 different nations at the three-day event that began on Tuesday.

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A letter from President Trump was read at the gathering, praising the Prayer Breakfast as an expression of “our greatest hope for peace.”

“Jerusalem is not just the heart of three great religions but it is now the heart of one of the most successful democracies in the world. Over the past seven decades, the Israeli people have built a country where Jews, Muslims, and Christians and people of all faiths are free to worship according to the conscience and beliefs.”

Rabbi Tuly Weisz, head of Israel 365 and a keynote speaker at the event, emphasized the political importance of what was essentially an interfaith gathering.

“It is clear that the governments and leaders of Israel and the U.S.value the importance of the spiritual connection between evangelicals and the Jewish state,” Rabbi Weisz told Breaking Israel News. “Everyone was there to pray; to call out to God to protect Jerusalem. The representatives called on their governments to take part in order to bring blessings upon their country.”

The power of prayer was seen after the first Jerusalem Prayer Breakfast two years ago. At the event, Dr. Billye Brim led the people in a prayer calling on the newly inaugurated U.S. President to fulfill his campaign promise to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Precisely six months later, President Trump announced that he would indeed be doing so.

“We need you to pray harder,” Rabbi Lightstone said. “Your prayers are going straight to heaven. SO much more needs to be done for Jerusalem.”

“The people who attended did so in the knowledge that prayer is the way to push plans forward,” Rabbi Weisz said. “The genuine enthusiasm of all the participants in this was quite impressive.”

Rabbi Weisz said, noting that the gathering took place just a few days before the holiday of Shavuot in which the Book of Ruth is read. The rabbi cited Ruth as the archetypal non-Jew praying for the Jewish people.

But Rut replied, “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Ruth 1:16

“That is precisely what these delegates are doing,” Rabbi Weisz said. To actualize this, Rabbi Weisz led the people in a recitation of that verse to conclude the event.

About the Author

Adam Eliyahu Berkowitz is a features writer for Breaking Israel News. He made Aliyah to Israel in 1991 and served in the IDF as a combat medic. Berkowitz studied Jewish law and received rabbinical ordination in Israel. He has worked as a freelance writer and two works of fiction, The Hope Merchant and Dolphins on the Moon, are available on Amazon. He lives in the Golan Heights with his wife and their four children.